Journey to the West: Starting with the Hunting of the Three Demons of Twin Fork Ridge

After speaking, Mingyue kowtowed repeatedly.

Baili Bo, who was listening nearby, was terrified and secretly clicked his tongue in amazement.

He thought he had already been bold enough in ruining Zhenyuanzi's reputation, but he never expected that Sun Wukong would be even bolder than him, daring to push over Zhenyuanzi's manhood. He had really caused a huge disaster!

Upon hearing this, Li Fa chuckled inwardly, but feigned anger, saying, "Outrageous! How dare this Sun Wukong be so presumptuous! The Great Immortal is the ancestor of all earthly immortals, living as long as heaven and earth. This ginseng fruit tree is a spiritual root from the beginning of chaos and the separation of primordial order. How dare he destroy it so easily? He's truly audacious!"

Seeing the Master's fury, Mingyue assumed he was siding with her own temple and cried out, "Master, please understand! Those people are unreasonable, vicious, and difficult to control. Our magical powers are too weak to stop them at all."

Qingfeng has now locked Tang Sanzang and his disciples in the front hall, but he is afraid that they will cause trouble and that their master will blame them when he returns.

"This venerable master is an old friend of my master, possessing great supernatural powers and boundless magic. I implore you, venerable master, to apprehend that wicked monkey and seek justice for my Wuzhuang Temple!"

Li Fa pondered for a moment, then deliberately let out a long sigh and said, "Alas, this matter... is truly troublesome."

Sun Wukong was an enlightened demon immortal with seventy-two transformations, the ability to somersault on the cloud, and extraordinary supernatural powers.

Back then, when he wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, even 100,000 heavenly soldiers couldn't subdue him. Now, even if I were to take action, I might not be able to capture him securely.

Moreover, I am an old acquaintance of him and Tang Sanzang. If I were to suddenly capture him, it would be somewhat inappropriate in terms of both relationships and morality.

Upon hearing this, Mingyue burst into tears, crying out, "Master! Are you just going to watch us die, to see our immortal roots severed? If you refuse to help, we two will only have one option: death!"

Seeing him weeping so bitterly, Li Fa knew the time was right. He feigned weakness and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, alright. Since I've eaten your fruit, I should help you. Although it's inconvenient for me to capture the Great Sage myself, I have a method to revive the tree. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Mingyue's eyes lit up, and she said, "You are merciful, Master! I beg you for guidance!"

Li Fa asked, "Do you know that on Mount Putuo in the South China Sea, there is a Bodhisattva Guanyin who saves people from suffering?"

Mingyue was taken aback, then said, "Of course I know. But, what about the Bodhisattva the Master mentioned..."

Li Fa interrupted his question, saying, "That Bodhisattva has a treasure in her hand called the Willow Pure Bottle, which contains sweet dew that can bring the dead back to life and make withered trees spring back to life. If you obtain it and sprinkle that sweet dew on the tree, the ginseng fruit tree will surely come back to life."

Upon hearing this, Mingyue looked troubled and lowered her head without saying a word.

Li Fa asked curiously, "Why is the immortal boy hesitating?"

Mingyue sighed, “You are unaware, Master. My Wuzhuang Temple belongs to the Taiyi Xuanmen, and Guanyin Bodhisattva is the Western Venerable One. Confucius said, ‘Those who follow different paths cannot make plans together.’ If my master were alive, I might be able to ask her out of respect; but now that my master is not here, how can my two young servants ask that Bodhisattva? Even if they went, she might not be willing to come.”

Li Fa chuckled inwardly: "You two have different paths, so we can't work together. But I've had dealings with that Bodhisattva a few times."

He then showed a look of sudden realization and said, "That's true. Although the Taoist sect and the Buddhist sect have no enmity, they rarely interact. It's indeed inappropriate for the two of you to go and ask for their help."

He paused, then said, "But it's alright, I have another way."

Mingyue hurriedly asked, "What method?"

Li Fa smiled slightly and said, "By chance, I obtained a drop of the Three Lights Divine Water. This water is formed by the condensation of sunlight, moonlight, and starlight. It has the power of creation, capable of making withered bones grow flesh, bringing the dead back to life, and making rotten wood spring back to life. Its effects are even greater than those of nectar, and it can also revive trees."

Upon hearing this, Mingyue was overjoyed and repeatedly kowtowed, saying, "If the True Man truly possesses this divine water, then my tree will surely live! I beg the True Man to save the immortal root of my Wuzhuang Temple!"

Seeing his appearance, Li Fa was already quite certain of his success. He was just waiting for him to ask so he could readily agree, cast a spell to save the tree, and then the task of recording merit would be completed.

Just as he was about to agree, he heard footsteps outside the door, and a person rushed in.

It was a gentle breeze.

Qingfeng, covered in sweat and looking anxious, rushed in and said, "Mingyue! I've locked up the group in the front hall, but that rascal is still inside cursing and swearing. I'm afraid I can't hold him in... Huh?"

He immediately noticed Mingyue kneeling on the ground, her face streaked with tears, and then saw Li Fa sitting upright while Baili Bo stood in attendance. Sensing something was amiss, he hurriedly asked, "Brother, what's wrong...?"

Mingyue grabbed him, saying, "Senior brother, come quickly! Master Jihua says he has a way to save our fruit trees!"

Upon hearing this, Qingfeng was both surprised and delighted. He knelt down beside Mingyue with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Master! If you can save my Wuzhuang Temple's immortal root, you will be my benefactor! I will be eternally grateful!"

Seeing the two kneeling neatly, Li Fa felt even more pleased with himself. Just as he was about to say, "Please rise quickly, this humble Taoist will now perform the ritual," he suddenly heard a voice behind him: "Wait, Master!"

Li Fa turned around and saw Baili Bo.

Baili Bo frowned, stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Master, if I may be so bold, there is something I am unsure whether I should say."

Li Fa's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm and said, "What do you have to say? Speak freely."

Baili retorted, "Your Excellency is merciful, but... although the celestial boy has restrained the monkey, he possesses great supernatural powers. If Your Excellency revives the tree now, what if that monkey comes and knocks it down again?"

Upon hearing this, Li Fa was immediately dumbfounded.

Yup!

Sun Wukong was only temporarily trapped at this moment; with his abilities, escaping would be a matter of moments.

Once freed, the monkey's anger lingered. He went back to the garden and found the tree alive again. Given the monkey's volatile temper, he might just push it again...

The problem is that I only have this one drop of the Three Lights Divine Water, and once it's used up, it's gone. How can I withstand that rascal's repeated torment?!

After hearing Baili Bo's words, Qingfeng and Mingyue suddenly realized the truth.

Qingfeng slapped his thigh and said, "Oh dear! This...this young master is right! That mischievous monkey is extremely fierce. If he breaks free and goes back to causing trouble in the orchard, even if the immortal saves the trees, they won't be able to withstand another push from him!"

Mingyue nodded repeatedly, "That's right, that's right! What will we do if he does it again?"

The two young Taoists looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.

After pondering for a moment, Qingfeng said, "In my opinion, it would be better not to save him for now, but to wait for Master to return!"

Mingyue was taken aback and asked, "Wait for Master to return?"

"Exactly!" Qingfeng said decisively. "Master is the ancestor of all earth immortals, with unparalleled supernatural powers and boundless magic. As long as he returns and Master is in charge, that mischievous monkey, no matter how bold he is, will not dare to act recklessly again! At that time, we can ask the True Immortal to use magic to save the tree, wouldn't that be foolproof?"

Mingyue nodded repeatedly, saying, "Senior brother is right! Senior brother is right! Let's wait for Master to return!"